Her own prison
by Myno
Summary: In his heart, Zuko has given up on his sister and imprisoned her underground to live out her days. Azula refuses to be beaten by her younger brother, she was always one step ahead of him. Watch out Zuko, Azula has one more trick in her sleeve. 5 years later.
1. Chapter 1

**Just a warning, this story is pretty gloomy all the way through so if you choose to read it, don't complain if you feel dead inside after. I love the possibilities that we could go into with Azula and this probably one of my favorites.**

 **Update 9/12/17: I'm actually going to try to make this into a multi-chapter fic and i will try to update every week and a half so make sure you follow this story so you know when I've posted a new one. Here's chapter one and chapter two should be up by Saturday. Thanks!!!**

 **Enjoy!!! :)**

 ** _-000-_**

Zuko took each step down the stairs as slowly as he could because each one brought him further and further into the abyss. It wasn't that he was afraid to go down them or even that he hated the person he was coming to meet (although he did hate and fear the person). He didn't have to see this person, he didn't even like going down there because it always smelled of urine and desperation.

Going down these steps reminded him of a poem he had read once though he couldn't remember where or when.

 _Down_ _in the deepest abyss,_

 _Where the light is afraid to shine,_

 _Where Devils lurk in the corners,_

 _And Angels cross the line,_

 _Where goodness has no meaning,_

 _Down there lives a man._

 _A man who's lived his life,_

 _As only that man can._

Zuko had been Fire Lord for some time now and he had faced so many other things that were far more daunting than this. So why was he even more afraid to see his only sister?

At the bottom of the stairs, there was a door and a guard standing watch to make sure nothing came out and nothing went in. When the guard saw Zuko walk up to the door, he didn't say a word. He just used the only key he had to open the only door in the building. He pushed the door open wide enough and stood aside so that the Fire Lord could walk in. Zuko said nothing to the guard as he walked into his sister's cell.

The room was bare, there were no windows, only the walls and a cell of bars in the middle. Zuko stood between the cell and entrance/exit while the only person he'd ever been afraid of sat inside the cell. She looked at him with curious eyes. It was like she wasn't sure what exactly she was looking at until he said her name.

"Azula," he tried to say it with force and strength but it came out weakly instead.

"Well if it isn't baby brother," she cackled hoarsely and started crawling over to him but she didn't get very far as her chains restricted her movement. "Or should I say Fire Lord!" she spat as if it was something vile on her tongue.

"Yes," Zuko said, more to reassure himself than agree with her. "I have been the Fire Lord since we beat you in that Agni Kai." He stopped talking to remind her who put her down there.

She snarled and whispered in a low tone. "I will get free from this metal prison brother, and when I do, I will find you and I will burn the rest of your body the way father should've done all those years ago! Then, I will burn your precious Mai! Then I'll burn your precious kingdom! I will burn it all!" She smiled like the vile person she was and laughed, giddy thinking about the ways she would destroy him.

He always feared and hated his sister, but there was the tiniest twinge of pity for her condition and because of that pity, he didn't want to remind her that the Avatar took away her bending before they locked her away down there.

Zuko sighed. "Azula, you are my sister and one of Mai's oldest friends. For those reasons and those reasons only, we decided that you deserved to know that Mai is pregnant with our first child."

After he said those words, the room became quiet. Zuko expected her to lash out or something but she didn't. She did the opposite.

Her dry, hoarse cackles reverberated off of the walls making it sound louder than it actually was. "No matter. You see dear brother, I will have escaped by morning and I shall wreak havoc upon your life!" Again she cackled maniacally.

Zuko grew stiff, his eyes widening in horror. _Azula, escape? No! This can't happen!_

"Explain!" He demanded, determined stop her from whatever plan she had.

"Father," she said smiling.

"Father?" Zuko said incredulously.

She nodded. "Father told me that tonight he would come for me. Tonight, we shall escape together! Together we will destroy you Zuko!" Yet again came her tiresome, vile laughing. She just couldn't seem to stop herself.

Zuko relaxed. It was true. Azula had lost herself in the cold silence of this room. She would never heal from her sick twisted mind. He hadn't been able to see it until now.

Their father had died years ago. Shortly after Zuko's coronation, Ozai managed to get one of the guards knives away from them and slit his own throat. He couldn't bear to live another day without his bending. Katara hadn't been there that day nor any other healer that would be able to help his father. Ozai died that day with more honor than he ever deserved.

"Goodbye Azula." he said while she laughed on and on and he exited what he be believed was his sister's final resting place. The guard closed and locked the door behind him but Zuko didn't stop to address him, he walked up the stairs as quickly as he could.

As he neared the top of the stairs, he felt he couldn't breathe. He ran the rest of the way, lunging for the open air. It didn't help though. It was still the only thing he could hear, the ringing in his ears, the evil cackle of the formerly blue fire bender.

 ** _-000-_**

 **Yeah, I gave to agree, that one was pretty dark. I read a fic by Led Feynman D.S. D.D.S. Ph.D called _Lucid_ and that's sorta what inspired me to write this. Check out Led's _Lucid_ , it will be in my Favorite Stories. Also, got the title for this one from the song by Creed _My Own Prison._**

 **Update 9/12/17: I forgot to mention that in my story, Azula is the older one. Hehe, my mistake. :)**

 **Read, Review, Favorite!!! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well here we are! I finally posted something on time for once *pauses and bows for the audience*. Anyway, here's the newest chapter of Her Own Prison. It takes place the same time as the previous chapter but this one will be from Azula's point of view.** **Enjoy!!! :)**

 ** _-000-_**

Some days I wake up and all I can hear is the noise in my ears. That evil, piercing cacophony of voices in my head that haunts all of my waking hours and most of my sleeping ones too. Sometimes they tell me that father is so close and that I only need patience, most other times though, they scream bloody murder for no reason.

Compared to the awful things going on in my mind, my current living condition aren't so bad. I'm in a cell made of bars, inside a room with no windows so I can never tell when it's day or night. My chains prevent me from moving very far but they allow enough room for me to get into that semi comfortable position I almost always sleep in for lack of mobility. My small body aching from the crouched position I'm in right now, I don't mind, it will make the release of tension on my joints that much better.

I actually don't mind my living conditions, the voices get a little annoying at times but they keep me company when I'm all alone. Just me and the guards that don't ever talk to me. Or at least all of them except the 6th one.

I think his name is Jeter or maybe Jerin or something but his name isn't that important. What he says to me is pretty boring too. He is the one guarding me at the moment though and from what I've deduced, he is about as dumb as a rock. But that's really not important, what is important is the dinner he gives me. It's always a bowl of unidentifiable slush, it doesn't bother me that I'm being treated as a slave in my own country. That's not important though, what is important is the note at the bottom of the opaque slush.

The first one told me who it was that arranged to have them given to me and what that person believed about the current state of the fire nation. The next one told me their plans for the future of this nation. The last one I'd read told me of this person's allegiance to my father and that they had a large group of people under their control that wanted the old regime back and was willing to do anything for it.

Patiently I'm waiting for the next note but it's been quite a rough day in regards to the voices I hear. Almost all of them have been quiet, all except the one I can't bear to listen to. It doesn't even talk, it just laughs. It's been ringing in my ears so long I hardly remember what the other voices sound like. It echoes off the walls like it wants to leave and give me a few moments of peace just to return with screams of ringing silence.

"I'm sick of this hell-hole!" I scream at the top of my lungs. "I'm sick of these bars, I'm sick of these chains!" I yank on the metal that holds me down and makes me feel so heavy, I pull with all my strength yearning to be free of them, to feel the air that touches freedom.

The dumb guard looks at me blankly and it sets me off. "What are you looking at you Neanderthal! Pick up your slobbering jaw off the floor and give me my note for today!" I yell in outrage.

He looks at me for a moment then smiles and laughs. "Is that any way to speak to your liberator?" He gives me a sly smile and pulls my note out of his pocket between his forefinger and middle finger.

I don't know why but I start salivating at the sight of it. _Liberator?_ I think in my mind.

With those two fingers, he flicks the note at me so hard and so fast, it flies across the room and hits me square in the forehead and the surprise makes me fall back onto my butt. The shock doesn't last long though, as soon as I realize the note is close enough for me to read I pounce onto it, almost ripping it apart trying to unfold it. Once I've got it open, I read it again and again, committing it to memory.

I look up at my "liberator". "Is this real?" I ask him, my lips trembling.

He gives me that smile again. "Well, we'll just have to see tonight now won't we?" He turns to leave but before he knocks on the door to be let out into that cold freedom, he says something in a whispering voice to me. "Make sure you swallow that one too, we can't have anyone finding out about our little secret." He knocks hard on the metal door and it swings open after a second and another guard walks in.

I barely have enough time to chew and swallow the note before the next guard walks in but I do just like I did all the others. He doesn't seem to notice what I've done so I shrink back to my corner and contemplate the events that will transpire tonight.

A few minutes later the guard walks out and who should walk in but my brother, Fire lord Zuko.

"Azula," he says weakly, I can tell he meant it to be forceful.

"Well, if it isn't baby brother," I say with as much malicious intent as I can muster and from the way he recoils at the sound of my voice, I can tell nothing has changed. He is still afraid of me. Considering what my note for today said, this is still only my second favorite of all the things I learned today. "Or should I say Fire lord." The words tastes disgusting coming from my mouth.

"Yes, I have been Fire Lord since we beat you in that Agni Kai." He sounds slightly more confident and I don't like it. He stands a bit taller now but I'm chained up and too tired to try to do anything physical about it.

That doesn't stop the fury I feel from escaping my lips. "I will get free from this metal prison brother, and when I do, I will find you and I will burn the rest of your body the way father should've done all those years ago! Then, I will burn your precious Mai! Then I'll burn your precious kingdom! I will burn it all!" At first I'm just ranting indignation, but then I think about how satisfying that would really be and it makes me laugh. I know my laugh irks him from the face he makes, like he had just eaten something repulsive.

"Azula, you are my sister and because of that, Ty Lee thought that you deserved to know that Mai is pregnant with our first child." he says in a rush.

 _Weakling Mai,_ I think to myself. _Why anyone would want to make any more than one Zuko in the world is beyond a mystery to me._ "No matter. You see dear brother, I will have escaped by morning and I shall wreak havoc upon your life!"

He looks terrified that I could be free and taste that oily air again. "Explain!" He commands me with such force and boldness that it makes me forget that this is my younger brother.

"Father." I reveal.

"Father?" He looks so confused, it's so adorable.

I nod at him. "Father told me that tonight he would come for me. Tonight, we shall escape together! Together we will destroy you Zuko!" I laugh so viciously now that I can't stop myself.

Zuko relaxes his stance from a defensive one to a neutral one. His face relaxes too and a look I've never really seen him use settles on it. It almost looks like pity though. He walks out of the cell while I laugh on, unable to stop myself.

When my laughter dies down, an even louder one starts up in my head, the one from earlier today. The voices were relatively quiet throughout my discussion with my brother but now it seems they have returned to make up for lost times. He probably thinks I'm a crazy person spewing thoughts at him from my head and he'll be so caught off guard when I actually do it. I'm in pure agony so I curl up into a ball and clutch my ears giggling in delight at the thoughts I have of burning Zuko's world into nonexistence.

 ** _-000-_**

 **This chapter has a bit more exposition and rising action than the last one so you can sort of see where this is going. I have two more chapters before we start getting into the meat of the story but it'll be good, I promise. As always, please review because I live off of those and tell me what you like, tell me what you don't, anything to tell me how this story's effect on you! :)**

 **Read, Review, Favorite, Follow!!! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey chapter 3, uploaded when I said it would be! Not much for me to say here but the views for this story shot up by like 200 just this past week so thanks to all you guys who reviewed or PM'd me, I appreciate you! :)**

 **Enjoy!!! :)**

 ** _-000-_**

I walk into the palace and breathe a deep sigh of relief. I can feel safe here, there are exactly 31 guards and servants in the building at all times, no one will try to kill me here.

Azula is imprisoned in that cell and her bending is gone, I have nothing left to fear from her anymore, I tell myself as I walk through the palace searching for Mai.

This place feels just as empty as it did when I lived here with my father and mother and sister. The high ceiling and fiery red walls look almost monotonous after I've seen them over and over for so many years. They don't even look like a fiery red, in my opinion. They look like a bloody red, like my father's neck did when he killed himself.

I take a deep breath and focus on finding Mai, I won't let those thoughts take me over, not today.

As I walk through the wide hollow halls I pass the head servant and he bows as I walk past him, barely acknowledging his presence.

"Good afternoon Fire Lord Zuko." He says mid bow.

"Where's Mai?" I ask eager to be by her side again.

He doesn't come up from the bow. "She is by the turtle duck pond sire."

This makes me smile, I can't help but smile when I think of Mai in such a relaxed mood. Normally in the palace, she plays the part of the Fire Lord's wife. The only time she shows her true self, the happy Mai, is when we're alone.

"Thanks Ming." I walk away without relieving him.

Out at the Turtle duck pond, Mai is laying out on a towel not too far away from the pond. She's wearing a long dress similar to the one she used to wear when we were younger except there is a hill protruding out of her stomach now.

It's been eight and a half months since our child was conceived. He or she should be born any day now, the next leader of the Fire Nation. I've busied myself with preparations for it's arrival and it has definitely taken it's toll on me. I don't sleep as well at night, with some nights i just stay up and stare at the ceiling pondering whether or not I will be a good father for it. I'm never really sure or not, but all I know is that I won't be like my father, I won't let it feel like a disgrace if it isn't just like me. My child will be loved by the most loving and terrified parent in the world.

Mai feels similarly to the way I do but she's better at hiding it. She doesn't worry about how it feels, she tells me that she will raise it so that no matter what, it will be the best of the best at everything. She gives off an aura of not being too anxious about it but I know that's not true.

I remember the first time I woke up in the middle of the night to her sobbing and talking to the baby. She told it that she was scared to be its mother. That she was scared that the child would turn out like her, she didn't want it to be that way and she told it that she wanted it to be like me. Caring and empathetic towards others. She told it about all the things that I had done that were kind to others, some of it was stuff I didn't even remember but she did. Listening to her made me just a little less terrified about being a father.

Not now though, now all I wanted to do was lay next to her as she slept so softly and put my hand over her belly and wait to see if my child would kick. Azula had already been put out of my mind and I didn't want to think anymore about her.

I laid next to her and wrapped my arms around her, just like I had thought about. Like always, she was so much warmer than I remembered but still had the same feeling of safety to her. She stirred just a bit but she didn't wake up, I allowed myself to relax, embracing her. I hoped I would be able to lay here for a while, smelling her sweet fragrance. That didn't last long though.

"Did you go see Azula?" She asked in her soft monotone.

I sighed, slightly exasperated. "Yeah, I talked to her. She's got too many screws loose to understand what's going on." I nuzzle my nose into that space behind her ear trying to enjoy the moment. I already know that there are about a dozen hidden guards that can see us but I don't care, I'm the Firelord, I'm allowed to feel vulnerable whenever I want. "She still believes father is going to free her."

After hearing this, Mai sits up as far as she can but that isn't very far because her belly gets in the way. "You know Zuko, Azula was my friend a long time before we were together, so watch what you say about her." Her words are in a monotone but there's no mistaking the blade's edge behind them. She stands with a little difficulty but when she's vertical, she storms away in that way that only she can.

"Mai, wait! Where are you going?" I reach after her but I only grab fist fulls of air.

Without looking back, she responded. "To the kitchen where the food is and you're not." And just like that she's inside the palace again out of my sight.

I breathe a sigh of full exasperation and a little fire comes out with it. I fold my arms, lay on back with my eyes closed and scowl. Things have been a little intense between us for awhile now and I haven't been able to figure out why. I hope it works itself out though, this was the only easy thing in my life and I want it back.

I lay there without her for some time, I'm not sure how long but it must be awhile because Ming retrieves me.

"My lord," he bows again just like earlier. "The Governors of the state are waiting in your private conference room for your arrival."

I'm a little more than slightly annoyed, but I try my best at keeping my composure. "Tell them to come back at another time."

"I'm afraid I cannot do that sire. You have already postponed this meeting twice, to do so again would put an even greater strain on an already strained relationship. I fear how our great country would fare under such conditions."

I can hear the irritation in his tone of voice. I'm so annoyed I just grunt and decide to go change into some more presentable clothes. "Thank you Ming." I say with a venomous tongue.

He doesn't nod or anything, he just walks away.

Looks like Mai isn't the only one I've upset, I think to myself. I wish I would've know that was the last hour of peace I would get for a long time.

 ** _-000-_**

I walk to the library to take some time to relax after the tumultuous meeting with the Governors of state. I watched for the past three hours as they argued with me and each other about how to deal with the rising rebellion. After I ended the meeting with still nothing resolved, I decided to head to the library to relax.

I opened the doors of the lounge of books to see a bald, pleasingly plump man with a long white beard pouring tea and humming to himself. I smirked and chuckled to myself a little. "Uncle." I say softly and more relaxed than I've been in too long.

Uncle Iroh looks up, surprised to see someone standing in the doorway, but once he sees that it's me, his smile takes on this quality to it. It makes him look older and not as happy but not because he's sad to see me, but because of the history and relationship we share. He stands and puts his arms up to embrace me and I stand in his warm embrace, feeling slightly at peace but more so exhausted.

"Nephew," he says to me, his just as old and raspy and warm as I remember. "It has been a long time. Please, sit with me, indulge in an old man's presence for a moment."

Nothing could make me happier than to sit with Uncle, drinking tea and listening to his proverbs. When I slump into the chairs he begins pouring his world famous tea. "How's your tea shop coming along in Ba Sing Se?"

"It has been very well, I just hired some young pupils who love tea almost as much as I do. I can share my love of tea with them in a way you were never interested in." Uncle laughs and I smirk as he tells me about all the people he's employed and the people who come to his shop often and how he's been nominated for the best tea in the whole city. There's a sparkle in his eye when he talks about this that I used to see during my two year banishment all the time, I'm glad he can be happy in a way they I just can't right now.

"How about you nephew, how are things going as Fire Lord?"

My demeanor becomes quite grim, it was so easy to get lost in Uncles stories and his warm attitude but now it's time to face reality. "Things haven't been so well."

Uncle's face turns serious very quickly. It reminds me that under his mask of happiness and elation, he is still one of the most powerful firebenders in the world. "Nephew, tell me what is wrong." He says simply.

I sigh again. "In Fire Fountain City, there was a riot of non-benders and firebenders demanding that their 'rightful place in the world' be recognized. They called themselves 'The New Ozai Society' after my father, and released a manifesto in which they clearly stated that they don't like or want my rulership so they want to assassinate me." I involuntarily shiver when I think about how insane these people must be. "In basic terms, they believe that father was right and the 100 year war was completely justified and even necessary. They believe that the nation has fallen and that it's their job restore balance to the world through war."

Iroh looks so forlorn and melancholy that I want to stop talking about this immediately and go back to his tea shop. My life was never this hard, where did it all go wrong?

Now that I've started though, I can't stop myself. "These people are fools! They have one problem and they assume that they should be the rulers of the world just to fix that one and then everything in the world will just be so utopic like there were never any problems!" I look over at Uncle for him to stop me, but he just slowly sips his tea and then waits for me to continue.

So I go all in and hold nothing back.

"I've been the Fire Lord for five years now and I still don't know what I'm doing! Day in and day out, I've been working my hardest to make sure that the peace we brought about in the Fire Nation stays that way. If that makes me a bad Lord, then so be it! Get rid of me if you need to. I've done all I can without any help from the people who should have been their for me! My mother and father are both gone, my sister has become insane, and the only person I've felt remotely supported by is Mai and she can't even stand to be in the same room as me!"

I throw my hands into my face, I'm so frustrated and exhausted I can't even enunciate my feelings anymore.

I feel something warm the back of my hands so I move them to see what it is. Uncle is holding out a cup of tea for me and it smells of ginger and reminds me of the years we spent together during my banishment. I take hold of the cup without drinking it and just let it burn my hands, it hurts a little but I don't really mind. The only things that I focus on are this burning and Uncle's voice.

"Zuko, these people have been taught their entire life that the war was their gift to the world, they have been told how great they are. But now they are considered fools, extremist's and they do not know how to deal with it. This is their way of lashing out, they do not know what else to do."

Uncle has always been skilled at making me feel better about everything or making the world make sense and now is know exception. So I smile and I'm about to take a sip from my cup but Ming suddenly bursts into the room.

"My Lords, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I have extremely urgent news." He says in a rush.

"What is it Ming?"

"My Lord, I don't quite believe it myself, but it has been confirmed. Azula has escaped!"

 ** _-000-_**

 **Ooh, cliffhanger. I remember how annoying it is when the author writes a great cliffhanger and then just stops existing, so I won't do that to you all! Thank you again for taking the time to read this, I will have the next chapter ready next Saturday.**

 **Also, if you guys** **love Zuko as much as I do, check out the story, _Once a man, Twice a child_ by _ManofManyHats_. It'll leave you in tears but the pain is totally worth it.**

 **Read, Review, Favorite, Follow!!! :)**

 **P.S. I live on reviews like a Review Vampire, hehe!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey! I'm back, I didnt write a single word this week so I spent the last few hours writing and proofreading this chapter. I put in a lot of work for you guys now that I think about it, lol!**

 **Enjoy! :)**

 ** _-000-_**

I don't remember the exact moment when I realized I was being freed, I guess my first clue was when Jeter came into my room and broke my guard's neck.

 ** _-000-_**

I have to say though, the way he did it definitely caught my attention. He was so lightning fast with his reflexes I almost missed it, the fluid motion of his body and the force and speed of his strike. I don't know who this person is but for them to have been able to do that, they couldn't have been a normal in anyway.

I smile when I realize the only kind of person that could do something like that would have to be an assassin. These people don't play around, I think to myself.

 _Of course you are, you're a people person Azula,_ says a particularly loud voice in my head.

"Shut up!" I say out loud and Jeter gives me confused look standing over the body of the dead guard. I don't know why but this makes my face become a few degrees warmer.

"Azula, Azula. Haven't we already talked about how you should speak to your liberator?" he smiles at his own little joke despite having just killed someone.

I yank against my chains, ignoring his poor attempt at humor. "Free me!" I yell to him.

He smiles again and walks over to my cell, jingling them on his way over. After opening my cage, he gently holds my forearms steady while he liberates me. I don't know if he noticed but the moment his skin touched mine, my entire body burned hotter than any fire I'd ever produced. It's been so long since I've been touched, I didn't remember what it felt like.

When he unlocks me, I rub my wrists that haven't felt real freedom in such a long time. I almost ache to be chained up again to feel him touch me and free me again and again.

"Hey! Azula, now is the time to focus! We've got a long way to go before we actually escape." Jeter snaps me out of my thoughts. He hands me a sheath made of leather with a sword handle sticking out of the end.

I take the sheath smiling because I know what it holds. Pulling on the hilt, it is revealed that it holds dual broadswords, the only weapon that both Zuko and I can wield.

"From the murderous look in your eyes, I assume you know how to use them." Jeter says as he changes his uniform to one that's much lighter and much more adapted to hand to hand combat. "I watched you read the letter so I'm sure you've memorized the directions that we need to take to make sure the plan goes smoothly."

I nod, giddy with joy, ready to kill with my new blades. "Y-yes!" I stutter.

 _Did I just hear you stutter Azula?_ One of the voices says, I don't recognize it because I haven't heard it in such a long time. _Why are you stuttering?_

 _Don't show him any weakness! Another voice says._

 _Do you even remember what it's like to kill?_

 _AAAHHHHHHHH!_

 _Aren't you hungry Azula?_

 _We should kill him, we have no need of him anymore._

The voices get louder and increase in number. They're so loud, I can't think, I can't hear Jeter. I use a firebending technique to slow my breathing and calm my mind. It still works even though the Avatar stole my bending a long time ago. After focusing on the here and now, I sling the broadswords sheath across my back and prepare myself to follow Jeter to freedom.

He takes a deep breath, swings open the door, and charges out of the cell. He surprises the guard outside the door who looks like he was snoozing.

 _That's the last mistake he'll ever make._

I resist the urge to smile or laugh at the voice and watch as Jeter quickly slits his throat and runs up the stairs, knowing that he fatally wounded the guard without needing to look back.

 _Such confidence, he would make a good suitor._

That thought wasn't one of the voices.

I run up the stairs after him. _Stairs,_ I think as we fly up them, _I_ _haven't used stairs in five years,_ I reminisce.

 ** _-000-_**

I throw down my broadswords and collapse onto the ground of the hideout feeling more tired but more alive than I have in a very long time. I lost count of how many firebenders we killed today, but I can't forget the way their warm bodies felt against my blade.

Jeter looks just as tired I am but he looks much more, for lack of a better term, attractive than I feel. I don't notice I'm staring until he looks back at me. I feel myself blush profusely and turn my head away as quickly as possible.

He laughs. "If you enjoy looking at me princess, I won't stop you." After saying this, thoroughly embarrassing me, he wears a kind gentle smile on his face. It makes me want to pick my broadswords back up and shove them down his throat but at the same time, what he said makes me feel just a tiny bit joyful.

This Jeter is different from the one that used to slip me notes in my cell. He stands much taller and he must have had some type of fat suit that made his posture slouch more. His face looks less like the bumbling fool he acted like before and more like a fierce warrior. It's kind of attractive in all honesty.

"Where are you from?" I ask him, eager to learn about this captivating person.

He pauses and gives me a puzzled look before he answers. "Fire Fountain City."

I ponder this for a moment. That doesn't really tell me much, I want to know almost his whole life story, I don't know why. "How old are you?"

His expression doesn't change. "Seventeen."

Two years younger than me, that still doesn't satisfy my curiosity, so I inquire more. "What made you want to get into the business of killing people?"

He doesn't laugh like I expect him to, I've gotten quite used to it's comforting sound. "I don't have a tragic backstory or anything if that's what you're expecting. I lived with my two parents and my older brother, we weren't dysfunctional or anything, we got along pretty well most of the time. I went to a normal school, had normal friends, did normal things. I was by all definitions, an average kid. My parents told me that I could do whatever I wanted or whatever I was good at so one day I left the house and decided to be an assassin." He shrugs his shoulders. "As it turns out, I'm pretty good at taking lives so I kept doing it until I got on the NOS's radar and they recruited me."

"NOS?" I asked, unfamiliar with the term.

He looks confused again but then realization dawns on his face. "That's right, I forgot you've been trapped underground while all this was going down. It stands for New Ozai Society, basically we're a rebellion. Your brother has been making things difficult for the fire nation, things were better for us during the war. We were the top of the world, the kings and queens of civilization and now where are we?" His face is much more serious as he tells me about all the reasons the wartime was better.

There's no glint of passion in his eye, I can tell he doesn't really care about any of this I can tell. For someone like Jeter, there are only three things that could interested him about the rebellion.

"You don't have to try to convince me of the rebel cause," I begin. "Anyone could plainly see you don't care one way or the other about it, that begs the question: Why are you a part of it?"

The look on his face gives it away, I was right.

Before he can respond, I continue talking. "I foresee three possible answers to that question. The first is that this New Ozai Society is paying you more than anyone else would. The second is that there's someone you specifically care about who is a part of it and you want to be closer to them. I doubt it's either one of those though, so it must be the last one. You just enjoy the senseless murder."

His expression goes blank.

"Only a person who enjoys killing could leave the life you had before. A life where you had everything you needed, you didn't have to fight for your parents attention. You weren't ridiculed by your classmates or anything of that nature to make you want to kill. You simply do this because you enjoy it." I can't help but smile because even though I've been trapped underground all this time, my deduction skills have not weakened.

I hear a hatch open next to me and I jump up, blades in hand ready to slice into warm flesh. A small human being crawls out of the hatch in the ground and rolls over to see me standing over it.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I'm a friendly, I'm a friendly!" It screeches, throwing its arms up go defend itself.

Jeter grabs my shoulder before I can swing my blade. "He's on our side," he helps the new human off the floor. "Azula, this is Denzi. He's here to tell us the next step of our mission."

I sheath my blades. "Who said I was ever going to help you beyond the point?" I fold my arms and wait for his answer.

Denzi speaks up. "Trust me, once you hear what I've got to tell you, you'll be begging to be a part of this."

He then proceeds to tell us the next part of the plan and I must say it's quite genius, I wouldn't have thought of something like this. The scope of the NOS's control and influence must be much farther than I know.

"Wow, this mission is going to be much longer than I thought it would be." Jeter says.

I smile in a way that I'm sure could only be described as pure evil. "Don't worry, at the end of this mission, I will be Firelord and there will be plenty of people to kill on the way."

 ** _-000-_**

 **Suspense! I generally enjoy writting from Azula's point of view. Next Chapter we'll see Zuko's reaction, that'll be fun!**

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 **Update: 10/13/17. Hello all, just wanted to let you guys know that my tablet broke so I won't be able to update for a long while probably about a month and a half but I haven't forgotten about this story so I beg your patience.**

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	5. Chapter 5

**This was way later than I intended it to be so I apologize, I started a new job and stuff and now that gets in the way of my writing but I havent given up! Anyway, I tried to make this one a little longer to make up for the time gap but tell me what you think in the Reviews.**

 **Enjoy!!! :)**

 ** _-000-_**

I could feel my heart nearly stop when Ming said those words.

Everything slows down, I feel lightheaded. Uncle is speaking words but I can't understand them, I can hear that he's speaking words but my brain isn't deciphering them for me the way it should. My eyes still see fine, thankfully, so I can see the looks on the faces of Uncle and Ming.

They're both looking at me in a way that I've never really seen before. Their eyebrows scrunched together, their eyes wide open staring intently at me like they're begging me for something. No, that's not right, they're looking up to me. They want to know what I want them to do.

That's when all my senses snap back to me.

The first thing I notice is that Uncle is calling my name over and over, so I address him first.

"Uncle," I say with more authority than I knew I possessed. "Find Mai, I'm assigning you personally to oversee her protection. Send word to you tea shop, I will need you here for awhile."

Though I've always looked toward Uncle as someone who has more authority than me, he stands almost immediately and bows. "Yes Firelord Zuko." He utters and then leaves without another word.

I turn to Ming next. "Ming, send a message to all the police stations in the area Azula was imprisoned, tell them all to be on high alert for Azula. Tell them not to engage her until I give the order. Also, alert the the Yuyan archers, I have a special mission for them."

"Yes Firelord Zuko." He says in the same tone as Uncle and then he too is gone.

I'm left alone with the fear and utter dread that fills my soul. I swallow the rising bile in my throat and center myself. I am the Firelord, and I will not fail today.

 ** _-000-_**

My shoes make dull hollow sounds as I the walk down the long hallway to the throne room. Servants pass me left and right, they all bow but I don't stop to acknowledge them. I see fear in some of their eyes and at first I think that it's Azula they're afraid of but then I remember that they don't know Azula escaped.

They're afraid of me, of what this little crisis has turned me into. My father would relish in that fear but I take no pleasure in it. I want to calm them but now is not the time. Now is for me to handle this situation.

In the throne room, the Yuyan Archers representative is waiting for me. He is standing in front of the throne with his arms folded and a solemn but stern expression on his face. Looking up, no doubt having heard my dull footfalls, he kneels down on one knee. "My Firelord, I have been informed of this troubling news. How may we, the Yuyan Archers, be of assistance?"

I walk past him and sit on the throne. I contemplate the dire situation before responding to him. "My sister is a dangerous person, even without her bending. She is proficient in every form of hand to hand combat and can properly utilize any weapon put in her hands. I need someone who I can trust to help me find her."

Being a member of the most powerful and skilled group of non-benders in the world, he doesn't show any emotion. He doesn't care one way or the other about my predicament, he sees only the mission and nothing else. "The Yuyan Archers will carry out your command at once Firelord Zuko." He stands to leave.

"Wait," I stop him. "I believe in your skills wholeheartedly, but this matter is of personal importance to me so I will lead this mission."

There is no visible reaction to my words, it kind of irks me. He bows his head slightly to show his obedience. "Yes Firelord. I will prepare the others and wait for you."

He leaves without a confirmation from me. I shake my head as he leaves but to my surprise Mai and Uncle enter at the same time. Mai's expression confirms that Uncle must've told her what has happened.

"Zuko, why is one of the Yuyan Archers leaving your throne room? Have you tasked them with capturing your sister?" Uncle asks me.

"I assigned them to go after Azula but not alone, I will be joining them to handle the situation as carefully as possible."

"Nephew, you have been Firelord for some time and I have seen you grow and make tremendous progress toward becoming a fitting Firelord, but I must advise you against your current plans. The Yuyan Archers are a skilled group of combatants and they have a greater success rate than any other squad, but having them carry out such an important mission in a civilian setting would be far too dangerous. They are trained their entire life to purge their emotion and fulfill their mission at the cost of their own lives and the lives of any bystanders as well. You cannot guarantee the civilian safety in any matters regarding this group."

"I understand the risks Uncle, but the benefits far outweigh the consequences. If Azula were to somehow escape the fire nation, the disaster that she could bring about in the world would be at or above catastrophic levels. Besides, I will be leading the mission myself to ensure this situation is handled properly." I argue in defiance.

Uncle's eyes go wide and an expression of complete anguish appears on his face. "Zuko, you are letting your fear of Azula cloud your judgement! To leave the Palace would be equivalent to leaving your nation without its leader!"

I stand, unable to keep my emotions separate any longer. "I'm not afraid of Azula! The only thing I'm afraid of is what would happen to our nation's reputation if she isn't dealt with!" I look to Mai. "Our country will not be without leader, you will take the throne in my absence."

Her expression doesn't change, the anger doesn't leave her. "Zuko," She says with a soft fierceness. "Stop it. Stop trying to leave here. You think chasing after her is chasing after your problems but you're wrong. Chasing her is running away from your problems here, running away from your responsibilities."

She steps forward to try to put me at ease. "Calm down and think this through logically." She tries to put a hand on my shoulder but I shove her off and she stumbles backward.

"Zuko!" Uncle shouts and catches her before she falls to the ground.

I start to lose my awareness of time, I forget everything leading up to these moments as if I'm in a dream. Uncle is slow to help her up but she gets there. I can't move, I'm frozen in place as I watched Mai's face go from confused to shocked to anger and disgust when she looks at me again.

"Mai," my voice cracks and sounds weak, the way I feel.

She continues to look at me with disgust and I stare back at her, hoping, wondering, fearing, dreaming of what horrors she could be imagining saying to me. Nothing I could possibly fathom was as terrible as what she said to me.

"You," She starts off with a disgust I haven't felt from her ever in my life. "You're just like your father."

Without another word, without a single plea for her to never leave me, she is gone. I don't know where she is, I don't know where she's going. She's just gone.

"You may have some experience being the Firelord, but you still have so much to learn." With those heart wrenching words, Iroh is gone too.

I'm still here in the throne room though, standing here, waiting for someone to stop me from falling, to fix my life, but no one shows up. I stand here, with none around.

I'm all alone.

 ** _-000-_**

It's been a few weeks since Azula sent my life into a downward spiral. My hair has grown quite long and Ming keeps imploring me to cut it but I don't think I will. When I stare directly at the ground, my hair hangs down all around my face like vines, they help remind me of my situation.

I haven't eaten anything besides bread or drank anything besides water. I've done 100 push-ups every hour the past few weeks, it has helped with my firebending. My flame is much more precise, more exact. I used to just jab at the air in front of me almost without purposes but now each thrust is used, there is no energy, no momentum, no movement wasted.

I have trained with the Yuyan Archers many times and they haven't been able to keep up as of late. Each time I spar with them, I can see the desperation and effort they're putting forth just to keep up with me. There have been a few instances where I have put forth a little too much force and one of them got hurt but I haven't let it get too far in my opinion.

Besides them, the only person I see on a daily basis is Ming. He brings in food for me and respectfully requests that I stop pushing people away so I can lead the Fire Nation. I always ignore him and make sure to tell him to bring me food for later and that no one else besides the Yuyan Archers may disturb me. He tells me of many of the goings on in the palace like what Mai is doing and how often Uncle comes up to the door of the throne room only to sigh and walk away.

I also instructed him to let me know everything that comes through the palace having anything to do with Azula. There hasn't been any word from the staff but I'm sure it won't be long before they've found her, she would be that careful.

As I'm doing a particularly lengthy set of calisthenics, Ming enters the throne room not carrying a tray of sustenance. Just I'm ready to yell at him he speaks out first.

"Lord Zuko, I beg you to please leave this room! The fire nation is in shambles without your guidance, we need our leader! I beg of you!" Ming falls to his knees and bows his head to me.

"Ming what has gotten into you?"

"I fear only for the safety of our nation Lord Zuko."

"Have you any other news to tell me?" I say trying brush off his statement.

It takes Ming a while to stand, at first I think it's just because he's old but then I realize that he is crying once he stands all the way up.

"Ming," I say with concern. "What happened?"

"I am so sorry Firelord, I knew this day would come and I have feared it for so long but it is finally here." Ming says forlorn.

"What are you talking about Ming? Tell me what has transpired!"

"I know that this will destroy you, but I cannot bring myself to keep it from you." He finally looks up from the floor at my face, tears in his eyes, face shaken with sadness. "My lord, we have found Azula."

It doesn't surprise me like I thought it would, I'm too well prepared for it I guess. There's no physical reaction from me, no shock or awe to speak of. I simply stand and go to the Yuyan Archers immediately to round them up and head out.

I round corner after memorized corner ready to find them and finish this madness. Around each corner though, my heart beats just a little bit faster. I don't realize why until Mai comes into view around the last corner. It's a shock to my system to see her again after what feels like an eternity but I don't stop moving.

Her pale skin and contrasting dark hair capture all my attention.

I keep walking.

Her belly more pronounced than I thought possible.

I don't stop.

She calls out to me for the first time in a far too long period of time.

I ignore her.

I walk past her without a glance, without a word and I thought I was in the clear. Free from her clutches and restricting bonds that prevented me from seizing my goal but she grabs my shirt.

I can't move.

For the first time in my life I hear Mai's sobs. "Please Zuko, please don't leave me. Send the Archers by themselves, they can handle her."

I muster the strength of all the firebending training I've ever done to speak the simple words: "They'll kill her."

She grabs the back of my shirt with her other hand. "I don't care. Let her die, the world's much better off without her in it. Just stay with me, please." She presses her pregnant stomach to my back. "We can't do this without you."

I'm speechless. For a brief moment I seriously consider the possibility. All of a sudden Uncle is next to me holding my hand, wiping away the tears I didn't know were there. I want to stay with them, I want to stay so badly but I know that it's not the thing to do.

I squeeze Uncle's hand tightly. "Take care of her until I get back." With that I pull away from them, away from the three most important people in my life.

"Zuko, please imagine the consequences of what you are doing."

I stop walking but only for a moment. "I have, and this is always the best option."

 ** _-000-_**

In the past years, by working together with the other nations, we have developed many technological advances. Some of these include radios and walkie-talkies. We used a radio to alert the police force of my sister's escape and instructed them to use the radio to contact us when they have confirmed a sighting of her.

They worked quite well for our purposes and we have Sokka to thank for it. He invented quite a number of useful tools for all the nations use. He even invented a box with motorized wheels underneath that could carry people or other types of cargo faster than we can run. He remains firm in his name choice of Whizzer. No one likes the name but no one had any better ideas at the time.

I smile to myself at the thought but then I frown immediately at the situation I have been placed in. Opening up the folder someone has given me, I read everything we have discovered so far about the mission we are about to take on.

The name of the tiny village she was spotted in is Kakusu. She had been seen exiting and entering one of the huts closer to the center of the village. She wasn't limping or giving off any other signs that she might have been injured so we must proceed with extreme caution.

There was one other person seen entering or exiting the hut, a female of about the same size and build of Azula. The only difference that was reported was that she had a head full of long blue hair. I can't help but wonder who exactly Azula was able to make friends with or who would want to help her in the first place or why.

I drop my head into my hands hoping that it will sooth the headache I feel coming on. It doesn't. The throbbing just gets stronger and stronger. One of the Yuyan Archers taps my shoulder and I look up to him.

"We're almost there sir." He says expressionlessly.

"Okay." I say with relief. Soon we'll find her and be done with this.

 _Soon we'll be done with her._

 ** _-000-_**

We left the Whizzer in the outskirts of Kakusu so as not to draw attention and now we're making our way by foot to the center of the city.

As we make our way there, I can't help but distract myself with watching the Yuyan Archers while they're in this state of mind. Their steps are so efficient and animal-like. No movement is wasted because each one brings them closer to the success of the mission.

I can't help but watch them in awe but it doesn't take long to remember why they're even here in the first place. We're here to recapture Azula, and then we'll decide what to do with her.

One of the Archers signals for everyone to stop and from me to come forward. He points to a shabby looking hut. "That's the one that she was seen in, what are your orders?"

I stand up straight and tall exuding confidence. "Two go inside with me, everyone else watch the perimeter, no one goes in or out without my word." They nod and take position around the hut.

I take a deep breath and signal them to go in. The Archers kicks in the door and raises his bow. He enters the hut with determination in his eyes and I follow in after, ready to burn her with all I have.

Imagine my disappointment when the only thing in the hut is a girl with blue hair and the she chair she's sitting on. Both of my affiliates take up positions on either side of her, arrows pointing directly at her heart.

I'm confused at first but it doesn't take long for me to adapt to the situation. "Who are you?" I shout.

She smiles. "My name is Aquila, it's nice meet you Firelord Zuko." She says in her sickeningly sweet voice.

"Where is Azula?"

"By my calculations, I would assume she isn't here at the moment, can I take a message?"

She's playing mind games with me. She reminds me so much of Azula, I hate it. "Stop playing mind games with me! How did she escape? Who helped her?"

She giggles. "Oh, Zuko. How long has it been, a week? A week and a half?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Your sister was right, you're so dumb and easy to manipulate."

My rage reaches an all time high. I send a jab of fire directly over her, not close enough to burn her face but close enough to singe a few hairs.

She definitely feels it, the shock on her face makes it evident.

"I'm not in a joking mood! I will kill you so choose your next words carefully."

She scowls slightly. "Fine, it's been more than long enough, I can tell you now." She sits up straight before continuing. " Our power extends far deeper than you can imagine. Our leader is just as manipulative or maybe even more so than Azula and so clever. He's so clever he knew that at the first chance you would get to chain your sister back up like a dog, you would take it." She spits. "You really only have yourself to blame for what's about to come."

Just as I'm about to light her up, one of the Yuyan Archers enters the hut with a police officer directly behind them.

Irritated, I turn with burning anger towards them. "What is it? I said I did not want to be disturbed!"

The officer steps forward. "My lord, I apologize for the intrusion, but I have very urgent news." He pulls a piece of paper out and begins reading it aloud. "It's reads: Alert Firelord Zuko immediately. The Palace has been attacked and is now captured. The gates to the city have been closed. There is someone else sitting on the throne, claiming to be the new Firelord. This person called herself Firelord Azula."

My eyes go wide and a thousand thoughts run through my head. I don't give any of them any attention, I rush out the door and back toward the Whizzer. The police officer stops me halfway though.

"My lord, there is more." With a shaken voice and quivering lips, he shatters my world. "Many of the staff and guards have been killed, including one former General Iroh and Firelady Mai."

 ** _-000-_**

 **Did anyone catch that Edgar Allan Poe reference? No? That's okay. I want to have next chapter out next saturday but we're going on vacation so that will have to wait. I wont give you an exact date on it but I promise I won't forget.**

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